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Last week, gaming giant Nintendo and theme park behemoth Universal Parks & Resorts announced a landmark partnership to bring Nintendo's iconic characters to its amusement parks. The announcement paves the way for Mario to sit alongside Harry Potter, The Simpsons, Transformers, and other major media franchises that already have dedicated areas at Universal parks around the world.

But how did the major deal come to be?

Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata offered an explanation during a recent earnings briefing with analysts, the English translation of which was published today. He said discussions with Universal executives began in April 2014, when the theme park first proposed the idea to Nintendo.